Some 15 years ago I was working in Canada.

I moved to Kingston, Ontario for 2.5 years to work on an international broadcasting project. In 2007 the initial explosion of online platforms also hit the internet.

YouTube was one of those. I remember realising that video was something special. But for me it was a little out of reach as I neither had the equipment or rudimentary skills to create content. Add to that, average internet connections were still dial up (remember that?) With pathetically weak data. It seemed to me weird that anyone would try and upload a video that would take a day to complete.

But YouTube was free, as it mainly has been to this day.

I became an avid consumer of the early "creators".

Anyone it seemed, had the opportunity to launch their own TV channel. Wow!

During those early months in Canada there was a lot of socialising as I was introduced to my new colleagues their country,  and culture. On one occasion my host at a party told me that he had asked some guests to leave as they had criticised the beer he had provided. "Free Beer is Good Beer" he said.

He had a point.

As online platforms launched at a furious rate, free and premium options started to be offered. I always opted for the free version. OK, I might have to put up with some advertising or a watermark, but that was a small inconvenience to put up with.

All these years later, I find myself using online platforms less and less. I am now extremely distracted by the amount of intrusive advertising.

Instagram is a prime irritation and YouTube? Don't even go there. Ads pre-roll, post-roll, and inserted every few minutes into videos. OK, the creators earn a miniscule cut from these adverts, but it's lead me to feel less than happy with YouTube.

I am a YouTube creator myself and I don't want my viewers having their experience watching my content disrupted by ads, so I have demonetised my channel. But Youtube still inserts those irritating commercials!

Where am I going with this?

Well, these past few days I have fallen back in love with YouTube. I decided to trial the Premium version of YouTube. It's a totally super viewing experience as the Premium version is ad free! There are also other add-ons offered in the Premium version.

I think back to the "Free Beer is Good Beer" principle I have applied for many years.

I now pay for an experience that I thoroughly enjoy.

This post is not paid for or sponsored, but I seriously recommend searching for "YouTube Premium" in your browser of choice and check it out.

The first 3 months are free and thereafter the monthly sub is not expensive. Just saying.

If you follow us on YouTube using Premium your viewer experience will be much more friendly!

Do you prefer to use paid for or free apps?

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